Teotihuacan Summary

According to the information from the text Teotihuacán was a city state in central Mexico around 300 CE, by the fifth century it was destroyed and burned by invaders but during its reign it was a powerful city state that controlled the basin of the Valley of Mexico. About 100,000 to 200,000 people lived in Teotihuacán during its peak. Spirituality and worship were an important part of their lives. There was and Sun and Moon Temple and a feathered serpent temple that was connected by the “Avenue of the Dead” here they buried people, usually outsiders, alive and performed rituals and human sacrifice to consecrate this holy land. They were a fierce community and made prisoners of outsiders, most of whom were used in the sacrifice rituals. …show more content…
However, the Smithsonian article gives a much more in depth and detailed account of Teotihuacán including details about the city lay out their trade and agriculture. Although the text describes their lack of expertise in relation to agriculture the article talks about how they raised livestock and grew avocados, peppers, beans and squash in swampy land. Specifically, the article profiles Sergio Gomez, an archaeologist from Mexico, who has spent most of his career examining Teotihuacán and excavating artifacts from the site. During his time spent at the ancient site a sinkhole at the base of the temple of the feathered serpent revealed a tunnel that lead to a barricade. Bravely, Gomez went into the dark and unknown space to find a man-made tunnel with two large boulders blocked part of the tunnel and the Gomez suspected it had been hidden for almost 2000 years. He and his team carefully dug through, after getting permission from the Mexican government to do so, within the hidden part they found jewelry, pots, animal bones, human skin and shells with intricate carvings and drawings. Additionally, further in they found an area with more artifacts that were very carefully arranged and buried. The article notes that this area made Gomez speculate that this specific area was not meant for the

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